Welcome to Tziganarama. For those of you who, inexplicably, haven't come across us before, we're a 3 -piece band based in London, playing gypsy, klezmer and Eastern European folk music on fiddle, (Chris Haigh), accordion , (Alan Dunn) and double bass (Bernard O'Neill).
Why call ourselves Tziganarama? The Tzigani are East European gypsies, and Bananarama were a seventies girl band...what more can I say?
Our repertoire includes Klezmer, Russian, Hungarian, Rumanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish traditional tunes, along with a good number of original numbers written by Chris.
We aim to present a broad range of styles from the dark and mysterious doinas of Romania, the baffling rhythms of the Balkan horos, the lively Khosid bulgars and cossack dances, jolly Polish polkas and slinky New York klezmer. We try to present it in an infomative as well as humourous manner.
Our first album, imaginatively entitled Tziganarama featured fourteen of these original tunes, and had guest appearances from many other musicians playing such things as cymbalom, gadulka, kaval, gaida, clarinet and so on. This album is no longer available, though tunes from it continue to feature in TV soundtracks around the world, notably in Japan and the US.
As well as playing concerts at Arts Centres, festivals and village halls, we also do lots of weddings and private functions, either playing for dancing, doing background music, or sometimes going round the tables. We played for a party in Elton John's back garden, in front of the shark tank at the London Aquarium (for a party of Russian millionaires- in fact we were surrounded by sharks!), and for the Lebanese mafia in a Beiruit nightclub.
Our line-up is flexible, and can be expanded to include other instruments such as clarinet, guitar or drums, and we can also provide cossack dancers
We often use Serguei Pachnine on Bayan (the Russian accordion) and vocals
SERGUEI PACHNINE
Our second album, released in November 2000, Tree of Life, which is mostly traditional tunes from our set. This time we resisted the temptation to invite all our friends into the studio, so this one is just the three of us, pretty much as we sound at a gig. We've got a lot of the standard Russian and gypsy tunes from our set such as Moscow Nights, Katyusha, Kolomeike and Dark Eyes; some of our favourite klezmer numbers including Odessa Bulgar , Nigun Atik and Kishiniever Bulgar; some exciting Macedonian and Bulgarian horos which we've just learned, and some new original tunes.
If you'd like to buy a copy, send a cheque for £11 made payable to Chris Haigh to 232 Sebert Road, Forest Gate, London E7 ONP. If you buy the album and enjoy it so much that you want to play the tunes yourself, I'll even send you copies of the sheet music for the cost of a stamped addressed envelope. You can't say fairer than that!
Or you can pay by paypal, and use secure payment by credit card
from anywhere in the world.
Here's what "Fiddle On" Magazine had to say about it;
Tzigane means Hungarian Gypsy according to my dictionary. On this, their second CD, the tunes range from polkas through the Russian Gopak, to a Bulgarian 7/8 and Macedonian 13/8. The stumbling rhythm of these odd time signatures is fascinating and mesmeric. There are klezmer tunes such as Kishiniever Bulgar which is played with luscious langour and then leaps up to a crackling pace. This liveliness often overlays a melancholy of countries and peoples that have rather too much history, although there is a truly joyous Polish polka. The geography runs from Moscow to Macedonia, with music of the jews and gypsies an interweaving thread. This CD shows the great diversity of fiddle music that exists beyond Britain and America.
The recorded sound is "tight"; they're definitely standing around your cafe table. Slow be-twiddled musings suddenly erupt into frenetic dances. Interestingly the pace is often in the accompaniment, whilst the fiddle is not actually playing that fast. In an unusually generous gesture the sleeve notes give details of how to obtain the written music. You'll need to buy the CD first but it's mid-priced at £11 direct from the band. These playing styles freely explore the higher positions up the neck, which are uncharted territory for many, but this collection does avoid the wearisome non-stop virtuosity of some "gypsy" music. Overall the presentation is elegant rather than earthy, cafe rather than campfire, but this slightly cooler approach should mean that, unlike some souvenirs of foreign travel, it won't embarrass when you get it home, and it'll certainly stand up to repeated listening.
"Musician" Magazine said:
Anyone who has ever fallen under the spell of the capricious, passionate folk music of Eastern Europe will certainly enjoy Tziganarama's Tree of Life, an album bustling with uninhibited exuberance and infectious energy. It mixes perennial favourites such as Dark Eyes and Moscow Nights, klezmer tunes including the mighty Odessa Bulgar plus three originals from fiddle player Chris Haigh who is joined on the recording by Alan Dunn (accordion) and Bernard O'Neill (double bass). A particular highlight is the enchanting Farewell my Tabor. Not a medieval lament for the loss of a favourite drum but a stirring Russian tune whose title actually means "farewell my gypsy camp". Judging by its spirited conclusion whoever penned it clearly couldn't get away fast enough. Peter Quinn
"Froots" said:
Entertaining selection of gypsy, klezmer and cossack tunes from fiddle/accordion/double bass trio hailing from the exotic east (Forest Gate in East London). Good fun and could well be coming to the foyer of an arts centre near you soon.
We recently played at the Jersey Arts centre; here's what the Jersey Evening Post had to say:
Last night in St James, the impossibly named Tziganarama totally captivated an audience who had been promised a tour of the East European folk world. From the first tune to the last, the energy, pace and precision was terrific as the band played an exhilarating set that was easily accessible to everyone-even those who were not entirely familiar with Cossack, Ukranian, Macedonian or Bessarabian folk. The first half took a trip to traditional folk music heaven with melancholy moments from Russia, a jolly Polish Polka and the Carpathian woodcutter's favourite-Kolomeike. The first half ended with the Tree of Life, a klezmer tune written by fiddler Chris Haigh, which had its roots firmly back in Russia. After the interval the music was as exciting and dynamic as before and included some very modern moments such as the stunning jazz version of Moscow Nights, which the audience enjoyed enormously.
Although the interior of St James appeared austere, the absence of sound-muffling furnishings made the acoustics perfect for the band, who could hear each other as clearly as we could hear them. This allowed the colour and subtle phrasing to shine through. It was hard to believe that this was an un unplugged performance. All three musicians were so fluent on their instruments and relaxed in their playing it was too easy to take it all for granted. Tziganarama were Chris Haigh on fiddle, Alan Dunn on accordion and Bernard O'Neill on double bass. Bernard-who has been Rolf Harris's musical director for nine years-and Alan will be returning later in the year with Rolf Harris when they appear in the music festival in October. Bernard and Chris may already be familiar, having played in Jersey before with the Kimbara Brothers.
Anything billed as Eastern European Folk virtually guarantees a diminishing audience word by word, but it does result in an audience which is there to listen. The eclectic gathering last night were utterly absorbed by the performance and thoroughly enjoyed the music, even making enough noise at the end of the evening to bring the band back on stage twice. Before the show I didn't know my horas from my czardas but Tziganarama took me on a fascinating journey that twisted and turned through so many different ethnic musical styles. It was eastern, it was European and it was folk. I bought the CD.
A few more reviews...
"Tziganarama...Russian, Gypsy ,Cossack and much more, blended with jazz by three musicians to create a toe-tapping set that really got the Barrow audience going. Went down an absolute storm!" -Barrow Evening Mail July 98
"Tziganarama are, by the standards of this release, a gifted trio...around whom the glittering talents of a bevy of featuring musicians have created a rare gem for the listener to East European folk musics. For me the benchmark of such exhibitionist issues is the need I have for proof that the band have listened and imbibed the musics they have sought to recreate. In overview Tziganarama do that admirably and it shows in arrangements that place each track geographically. A very exciting CD" - Folk Roots Oct 98
"The music is very melodic and varied; it is sometimes wild and energetic, sometimes slow and beautiful, but always gets you into a trance with its complexity. Just exciting music" -Folkworld July 98
"Here we have Jewish, Macedonian, Russian,Ukranian, Polish, Rumanian and Hungarian folk music extremely well played...money well spent I'd say" -Folk on Tap Oct 98
"Tziganarama's debut album is a little gem. Throughout, there's a distinctive ring of authenticity, despite the fact that all fourteen compositions are by Haigh...it all works brilliantly." -Taplas Oct 98
"A very refreshing album" -Folkwrite July 98
"Lots of fun...wild and wonderful" -Rock'n'Reel Nov 98 -Folkwrite July 1998
"The playing is excellent and exuberant throughout, the style is faithful to a fault and the whole album is very well produced."- Music Gazette 2003
"Just to say thanks again for a really enjoyable evening. Loved the chat between the tunes as well as the music itself! All but three of the evaluation forms scored you as 10 out of 10 (plus two 9s and a measly 8), and the event made £120 towards improvements to the hall, which was a bonus. Hope to see and hear you again some day. "
Tessa. (Seend Village Hall,Wilts)
"Many thanks for sending the CD- I danced around my living room for a minute or two this morning!
Just to say what a brilliant gig- Iam learning to play the accordion so please tell Alan Dunn he is my new hero!
Please come to Wiltshire again soon- wake us all up! Many thanks again"
Sarah (Bishopstone Village Hall)
gigs:
We also play lots of private weddings, parties and so on- feel free to get in touch with any enquiries. Though our normal set includes music from all round Eastern Europe, we can also specialise; we've done Polish parties where we just played Obereks, Polish Polkas and waltzes all night; we can do Hungarian evenings,, where we play all the gypsy standards such as The Lark, Monti's Czardas, the Brahms Hungarian Dances and so on. For Russian parties we have a big repertoire of Russian gypsy and cossack tunes, and we often get in a Russian singer and /or cossack dances, and maybe a balalaika; we also do a lot of Jewish weddings for which we play klezmer and lots of Israeli dance tunes.
So whatever you're after, feel free to get in touch and we can discuss it.
Email us at; chris@fiddlingaround.co.uk
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